Missing Children and Adults….its Not Just Kids That Need Safety..

MISSING! Not the words you want streaming across the TV screen with your child or loved ones name behind it. As a mother I cannot fathom the idea of one of my children or loved ones becoming missing. We love our family, friends and children and always want to protect them. Its natural to do everything you can to arm yourself and those you love to be safe. We don’t ever want to see anything bad happen to us or them. In today’s world where 24 hour news feeds give you piece by piece of every missing persons story; its almost as if the missing persons cases have risen! This in turn would make you think people would take extra precautions, even on a trip to the store, or a simple walk around the block. 

Unfortunately, as we saw in the disappearance of Kristi Cornwell, she felt perfectly safe taking an evening walk with cell phone in hand. Better yet, felt safe speaking to someone on the phone as she walked. A good friend of mine told me she tells her husband her every move. She will call him from home and say, “I’m going to the store.” His response is, “OK, what are you telling me for? Go to the store.” Not that he doesn’t care, but he wonders, why is she calling me at work to tell me shes just going up the road for a few minutes? I replied to her story that I hope he realizes in this day and age what a blessing it is that she is so on top of making sure he knows her every move. He may find it a nuisance now, but when he doesn’t get that call, he will certainly know to worry; because its not like her to not tell him every time she leaves for a new destination. 

This case of the missing woman who left for a walk is proof, sometimes we take for granted the safety measures we take. She felt safe having a phone and being on the phone. She never took the time to readjust her thinking in the safety aspect, even though, she was walking at a different time of day than normal. In all actuality, she turned a morning walk into an evening walk because of the hot weather. This is the time of day when it gets darker not lighter but still felt safe with her trustee cell phone. Like most parents, when we let our kids take off and feel that comfort of them carrying a cell phone, for me, just went out the window with this case. Her cell phone was almost a distraction. How bold of the abductor to see her not only with a phone, but on the phone, yet; she was still abducted, with her fiance still on the other end.  I know no one wants to hear this but people we must practice what we preach! We tell our children, to have a buddy system.Why don’t we? We can be just as vulnerable as adults to attacks simply being alone and distracted on the cell phone or getting into a car. We take so much for granted, we think we know so much, we think our children are the only ones that need the rules of safety.